On January 24, 2023, Lindsay Clancy fatally strangled her three children—five-year-old Cora, three-year-old Dawson, and eight-month-old Callan—at the family's home in Duxbury, Massachusetts, United States. She then cut her wrists and neck and jumped from a second-story window, sustaining injuries that left her paralyzed from the waist down. Lindsay later said she heard an auditory hallucination commanding her to commit the acts and felt unable to resist.
Lindsay was prosecuted for three counts of murder in a criminal trial that began on July 20, 2026. She pleaded not guilty; her defense argued that she had been suffering from postpartum psychosis and bipolar disorder and therefore lacked criminal responsibility for her actions. Much of the trial focused on her mental health in the months prior, during which she repeatedly sought treatment for symptoms including insomnia, intrusive thoughts, and suicidal ideation. Prosecutors argued that Lindsay was mentally aware at the time of the killings and that her actions beforehand, including sending her husband out on an errand, demonstrated methodical planning. They emphasized that she reported hearing the commanding voice only on the day of the killings and that none of her clinicians reported observing psychosis.
After nearly seven weeks of trial, the jury reported that it was deadlocked. The jury foreperson informed judge William F. Sullivan that a single holdout juror might be disregarding his instructions on reasonable doubt. After defense attorney Kevin Reddington tried and failed to have the juror removed, Sullivan formally declared a mistrial on September 4, 2026. The next hearing is scheduled for November 16.
The case attracted significant media attention and wide discussion of postpartum mental illness and criminal responsibility. Both Lindsay and her former husband, Patrick Clancy, filed civil lawsuits against her former healthcare providers, alleging that medical malpractice and negligence had contributed to the deaths of their children.
Background
Lindsay Marie Musgrove was born on August 11, 1990. She grew up in Wallingford, Connecticut, and studied at Quinnipiac University. She met her future husband, Patrick Clancy, in 2013 through her college roommate. The couple married on December 3, 2016, and later settled in Duxbury, Massachusetts, where Lindsay worked as a labor and delivery nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital.
The Clancys' first child, Cora, was born on December 4, 2017, after which Lindsay began working part-time. Their second child, Dawson, was born on September 30, 2019. Lindsay reported experiencing postpartum anxiety after the births of her first two children. Following the birth of her second child, she briefly participated in talk therapy and was prescribed the antidepressant Zoloft, though accounts vary on whether she took it.
The family's youngest child, Callan, was born on May 26, 2022. Following Callan's birth, Lindsay took 18 weeks of maternity leave, while Patrick took 12 weeks of paternity leave before returning to his work-from-home job in the technology sector. In anticipation of Lindsay returning to work in November, the family hired a nanny who worked three days a week from September to early December 2022.
Events preceding the killings
Lindsay said her anxiety returned and worsened after the birth of her third child in May 2022, particularly toward the end of her maternity leave. Patrick testified that she planned to ask for Zoloft to help manage her anxiety and transition back to work.
In September 2022, Lindsay began seeing psychiatrist Jennifer Tufts, virtually via telehealth. Tufts diagnosed her with generalized anxiety disorder, prescribed Zoloft, and completed paperwork to extend Lindsay's maternity leave. Lindsay delayed starting the medication until mid-October, and soon reported adverse effects. Tufts prescribed Ativan for her on October 21. On October 26, Lindsay reported that Ativan reduced her anxiety but not her insomnia and said she was using Benadryl as a sleep aid. Tufts prescribed Buspar, but Lindsay was afraid to try a new medication and did not take it. Tufts warned her that Ativan could be addictive and reduced her dosage on November 2.
According to Patrick, Lindsay's condition worsened in November 2022. He testified that she lost her appetite, withdrew socially, and experienced episodes of intense fear. On November 8, Lindsay posted in a Facebook support group for postpartum depression and anxiety. She said that although Ativan had helped her feel normal again, she was concerned about becoming addicted and asked for alternatives.
On November 15, she sought treatment at an emergency room after reportedly going two days without sleep. A physician prescribed trazodone, but Lindsay found it ineffective. By mid-November, Lindsay's parents had begun visiting for days at a time to help with childcare.
On November 20, Lindsay's mother-in-law, a nurse, contacted Julie Paul, a psychiatric nurse practitioner at her hospital's perinatal clinic. Paul called Lindsay later that day. Paul prescribed Prozac but, a few days later, Lindsay said she could not tolerate it. On November 25, Paul asked her to discontinue both Prozac and Ativan, offered a one-time dose of Ambien to help her sleep, and prescribed Remeron and Klonopin. When Paul left the hospital in December 2022, Lindsay's case was transferred to nurse practitioner Rebecca Jollotta. Jollotta prescribed Seroquel, an anti-psychotic and off-label sleep aid, on November 30.
December 2022
During the first week of December, Lindsay told both Tufts and Jollotta that she believed Remeron was causing intrusive thoughts. In messages to Jollotta, she described "horribly intrusive thoughts wanting it to be all over" and feeling "no emotion whatsoever". Jollotta believed Lindsay's symptoms were more consistent with postpartum depression than medication side effects. Tufts testified that Lindsay was "feeling very hopeless" and was approaching suicidal ideation. In her lawsuit, Lindsay claims she also reported hallucinations to two suicide hotlines at around the same time. Neither hotline intervened because she did not have a plan to harm herself. She also began seeing therapist Latiesha Dukes, who said she referred her to Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island after Lindsay reported intrusive suicidal thoughts.
At a December 6 meeting with both Lindsay and Patrick, Jollotta suggested Lindsay had bipolar disorder. Jollotta testified that Patrick responded: "My wife is not bipolar." Jollotta increased the Seroquel dosage and recommended hospitalization. On December 15, Lindsay visited an emergency room due to suicidal thoughts but declined inpatient treatment. Tufts prescribed Lamictal, a mood stabilizer, the following day.
On December 20, Lindsay joined a day program for postpartum depression at Women & Infants. The hospital discharged her after one day. According to Lindsay's legal filings, the clinical team believed her symptoms were "more pharmacologically induced than purely depressive". The hospital advised her to discontinue Seroquel. Although the recommendation concerned Jollotta, she agreed to help Lindsay taper off the medication.
Both Patrick and Lindsay's mother testified that Lindsay disclosed thoughts of harming the children to them at some point in December. Patrick testified that he asked whether she needed to be separated from them, but that she said no. He said he found the disclosure confusing, as she continued to care for the children normally and he never saw her mistreat them.
January 2023
On December 31, 2022, Lindsay returned to the emergency room because of persistent suicidal ideation. The next morning, she voluntarily began inpatient treatment at McLean Hospital. Psychiatrist Alia Goodheart testified that Lindsay was diagnosed with "major depressive disorder, severe, without psychotic features". Her treatment goals included tapering off of Seroquel and attempting to sleep without relying on it. After several nights of sleep, Lindsay asked to be discharged a day early to attend a birthday party for Cora. Goodheart described her as future-oriented, invested in her children, and having substantial family support. Lindsay left McLean on January 5, 2023, with prescriptions for Ativan and trazodone.
At a virtual appointment the following day, Tufts described Lindsay as "deteriorating" and discussed further medication changes. Tufts saw her again on January 9, and prescribed amitriptyline on January 16. During the month before the killings, Lindsay's phone was used to search for information about her medications, bipolar disorder, hallucinations, and insomnia. Other searches included "Where is the carotid artery", "How to slit your throat to die", "Can you turn airbags off on Kia Sorento", and "Can you treat a sociopath?"
At an appointment on January 23, the day before the killings, Tufts testified that Lindsay appeared depressed and said she had to force herself to get out of bed. Lindsay denied having suicidal or homicidal thoughts, and Tufts observed no signs of psychosis.
Killings
January 24, 2023
According to Patrick, on the morning of January 24, 2023, Lindsay told him that she had slept "pretty well" and was feeling good. She had become preoccupied with their daughter Cora's stomachache and took her to a pediatrician appointment. In the afternoon, Lindsay built a snowman and did art projects with the children. Throughout the day, she exchanged routine texts with Patrick, who was working from home.
At 4:02 p.m., Lindsay used her phone to search "kids Miralax". Eleven minutes later, she searched for a restaurant in Plymouth, Massachusetts, and used Apple Maps to check how long it would take to drive to there. At 4:47 p.m., she called a drugstore and spoke with a manager, who told her they did not have Miralax but had similar medications. Lindsay texted Patrick to ask if he wanted to order takeout from the restaurant and called the restaurant to place the order at 5:10 p.m.
At Lindsay's request, Patrick left their residence to pick up the food and medication around 5:15 p.m. Lindsay texted him, "Pedia-Lax liquid stool softener" shortly after. At 5:32 p.m., he stopped at the drugstore. Surveillance video showed him calling Lindsay about which medication to buy. Lindsay did not pick up immediately but called back a minute later. This call lasted only 14 seconds and was made while Lindsay's phone was locked. Patrick later testified that she seemed busy. He arrived at the restaurant at 5:54 p.m. and returned home shortly after 6:00 p.m.
While her husband was gone, Lindsay strangled their three children one by one with exercise bands in the basement. She then cut her wrists and neck and jumped from a second-story window in an apparent suicide attempt. Lindsay sustained spinal cord injuries from the fall, paralyzing her from the waist down.
In subsequent legal filings, Lindsay alleged that she heard a male voice directing her to commit the acts. She claimed that she woke up that morning with suicidal thoughts and in the afternoon, a voice began to tell her to harm the children. After Patrick left to pick up the food, she said the voice became loud, demanding, and repeatedly told her, "This is your last chance. You have to kill the kids so you can kill yourself." Lindsay claimed that a force took over her and that she "felt an overwhelming, irresistible compulsion to comply".
Emergency response
Patrick testified that when he returned home, the house was "unusually quiet". While looking for his family, he placed an unanswered call to Lindsay's phone at 6:09 p.m. He discovered blood in an upstairs bedroom, the window of which was open. He ran outside and found Lindsay lying on the ground, injured and semi-conscious. He called 911 and police responded at 6:11 p.m.
While still on the phone with 911, Patrick entered the house to look for the children. He found all three in the basement; each was unconscious and in medical distress, with exercise bands still wrapped around their necks. Cora (age five) and Callan (eight months) were on the floor of the basement's den, while Dawson (age three) was found alone on the floor of Patrick's basement home office. Responders attempted resuscitation. The children were taken to Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital – Plymouth, where Cora and Dawson were pronounced dead. Callan arrived at the hospital in cardiac arrest. He was flown by medical helicopter to Boston Children's Hospital, where doctors determined that he had suffered a severe brain injury due to lack of oxygen. Callan was declared brain dead and removed from life support on January 27.
Lindsay was taken to South Shore Hospital before being transferred to Brigham and Women's Hospital. In the early morning of January 25, she went into cardiac arrest. She was revived after CPR and multiple blood transfusions. Eitan Negri, a physician assistant, testified that while lacerations on her left and right wrists were severe enough to require stitches, the cuts on her neck were "superficial".
On January 26, while still intubated, Lindsay was interviewed by forensic psychiatrist Jhilam Biswas. Lindsay was unable to speak but could communicate by writing. Among the questions she asked Biswas were, "Do I have an attorney?", "Is my body broken?", and "Are my legs straight?" She also asked if she could have visitors and where her family was. Biswas testified that Lindsay demonstrated sufficient mental competency to consent to surgery. On January 29, Lindsay was deemed competent enough to change her healthcare proxy from Patrick to her parents. Lindsay also asked to sign a do not resuscitate order, but doctors did not allow it due to her mental health and apparent suicide attempt.